Garden Musings

Ah, June! Summer at last and the rain is pouring down. The gardens are thriving, and so are the weeds. The grass is growing like mad, soaring beyond the requisite three inch height of the ideal lawn. I swear I can hear it mocking me, laughing at me, knowing that I can’t mow in the rain which is forecast to continue for another couple of days. By the time we get a dry day, it will require baling! Meanwhile, in the flower beds, the peonies are in full bloom, their voluptuous blossoms being battered by the steady rain! In the island bed, rude, garish scarlet Oriental poppies are elbowing aside the foliage of my daylilies, clashing with their neighbours, jostling to the front of the bed, the better to attract your attention. Their manners leave much to be desired. By contrast, the false indigo tries to get along with everyone. It’s soft blue spires complement the dark red peonies and pale yellow lemon lilies, and even manage to subdue the poppies to a degree. Over in the rock garden, the goatsbeard’s airy white blooms wave over peach-coloured irises, mauve chive blossoms and royal purple spheres of ornamental onion. Spidery blue flowers of common cornflowers and white geraniums blend so beautifully, you’d almost think I planned it! In the daylily beds, the first scapes of the early varieties are just visible. July is the month for daylilies. In the meantime, the train garden is bursting at the seams with blue flax, tradescantia and bugle weed. For some reason that eludes me, everything in this garden self-seeds like crazy. Offspring of foamflower, brunnera, balloon flower, bellflower, blue sage, blue fescue, lady’s mantle, thyme, even the lavendar, are popping up everywhere, causing headaches for the engineer who seems to spend more time trimming the plants than running the train! A great time for gardeners though, with something new to see every day.